The Welsh Government has said that it needs a few more weeks to decide whether to back the Circuit of Wales project.

Economy Secretary Ken Skates is deciding whether to provide a loan guarantee of £210m from public funds, without which the scheme to build a £425m racetrack in Ebbw Vale will not proceed.

The latest announcement means yet another hold up to the project which has suffered a series of delays.

It comes in response to a question from Plaid Cymru AM Adam Price.

More information

In a written answer, Economy Secretary Ken Skates said that Welsh Government officials and appointed external advisors had been making progress on the project but that "the due diligence process identified many material gaps and inaccuracies in the information contained within the Circuit of Wales application".

Read More

Mr Skates said that as a consequence the Welsh Government had set "an extended and final deadline" for the company behind the project to provide further information.

Mr Skates added: "Within the last week final submissions have been received that officials have confirmed will allow completion of the due diligence analysis."

"This further delay has meant the timescale asset in March has slipped."

He said that the remaining process would take "a final few weeks", after which the Cabinet in Cardiff Bay would consider the project "as soon as is practicably possible."

Plaid response

Assembly member Adam Price

Mr Price, Plaid Cymru's Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Economy, said: “The Welsh Government’s entire approach to this project, which has the potential to be transformational, over the past seven years has been characterised by a catalogue of weak governance, dissembling and delay.

"Having originally said they would make a decision after the local council elections in May, they are now, it seems, seeking to postpone any announcement until after June 8.

"The conclusion you are forced to make is that they are trying to prevent news of a negative decision from affecting their election prospects. That would be deeply dishonest and a huge disservice to the people of Blaenau Gwent and the northern Valleys, who, if nothing else, should be able to expect transparency from a party to which they have given loyal support for the best part of a century.”

Report

Last month the Auditor General for Wales criticised the Welsh Government's handling of the £9.3m of public funding so far given to the project., saying there have been significant shortcomings in the way the Welsh Government has managed the associated risks to taxpayers’ money.

The financial watchdog expressed serious concerns about the “limited understanding” of the companies involved in the project. The Welsh Government allowed payments to related companies, including almost £1m to Aventa Capital Partners Ltd, without enough evidence that services represented value for money.

The report did not assess the merits of the Welsh Government providing further publicly funded support for the Circuit of Wales or review the viability of the business cases for construction and operation of the race circuit.